2005 American League Division Series
The 2005 American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of the 2005 American League playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 4, and ended on Monday, October 10, with the champions of the three AL divisions – along with a "wild card" team – participating in two best-of-five series. They were: *(1) Chicago White Sox (Central Division champion, 99-63) vs. (4) Boston Red Sox (Wild Card, 95-67): White Sox win series, 3-0. *(2) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Western Division champion, 95-67) vs. (3) New York Yankees (Eastern Division champion, 95-67): Angels win series, 3-2. The higher seed (#1 is the highest) had the home field advantage. ''NOTE: The Yankees were designated the Eastern Division champions due to winning the season series 10-9 against the Red Sox. The Angels received home field advantage rather than the Yankees due to their winning the season series 6-4 against New York.'' 2005 was the first year since 2001 that the Minnesota Twins had not participated in the ALDS. Other than the White Sox' stunning upset in the AL Central, the participants were identical to those of the previous year. The two victorious teams went on to meet in the AL Championship Series (ALCS). The victorious White Sox advanced to defeat the National League champion Houston Astros and win the 2005 World Series. Managers: *Mike Scioscia, Los Angeles; Joe Torre, New York *Ozzie Guillen, Chicago; Terry Francona, Boston Umpires: John Hirschbeck, Bill Miller, Mark Wegner, Mark Carlson (Game 1), Dale Scott (Games 2-3), Mike Everitt, Dan Iassogna (White Sox-Red Sox); Gary Darling, Jerry Meals, Derryl Cousins, Alfonso Marquez, Joe West, Jim Reynolds (Angels-Yankees) Television: Matchups Chicago White Sox vs. Boston Red Sox Game 1, October 4 U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago, Illinois Little did the Red Sox know when starter Matt Clement hit Scott Podsednik, the first batter he faced, that the rout was on. But the young pitcher never regained his control and finished by allowing seven runs on eight hits, three of which were homers, in only 3 1/3 innings. The White Sox also scored in the 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 8th innings. The Red Sox were held to 2 runs by Jose Contreras, who went 7 2/3 innings, giving up just 2 earned runs on 8 hits. Four White Sox players hit home runs, including Podsednik, who had gone homerless in the regular season. It was his first home run since Sept. 30, 2004. Game 2, October 5 U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago, Illinois Mark Buehrle gave up two runs in the first and two runs in the fourth inning and David Wells (6 2/3 innings, 2 earned runs, 7 hits) looked tough, giving up only two hits in the first four innings. But in the White Sox half of the fifth, the White Sox struck pay-dirt. They scored five runs in the inning, three of which were unearned, due to an error by Boston’s Tony Graffanino. Buehrle (7 innings, 4 earned runs, 8 hits) earned the win, with the save going to Bobby Jenks. Game 3, October 7 Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts For the first time since 1993, the White Sox secure their place in the ALCS by beating the Red Sox in the third consecutive game. The tough battle featured Freddy Garcia (5 innings, 5 hits, 3 earned runs) and Tim Wakefield (5 1/3 innings, 6 hits, 4 runs). Neither pitcher was very impressive, but both kept their team in the game. The White Sox struck first, scoring 2 in the third with the Red Sox replying in the fourth. In the sixth,Paul Konerko, with Jermaine Dye on base, hit a home run to put the White Sox in the lead for good. The Red Sox got one back in the bottom of the inning on a Manny Ramirez monster homer, but that was all they would get. El Duque, Orlando Hernandez, came in to pitch with the bases loaded in the same inning with no outs. He induced Jason Varitek to foul out, Tony Graffanino to pop out to short, and Johnny Damon to strike out to end the inning without giving up another run. He proceeded to pitch three total innings, giving up 1 hit. Bobby Jenks came in to finish it, earning his second save of the series. New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim × —Game was postponed due to rain on October 8 Game 1, October 4 Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, California The Yankees were able to get to AL Cy Young Award winner, Bartolo Colon early. With the bases loaded in the top of the first, rookie Robinson Cano lifted a line drive over the reaching hand of left fielder Garrett Anderson. The double would clear the bases, giving the Yankees a 3-0 lead. Again in the second inning, the Yankees would score, this time on a single by Jason Giambi that scored Derek Jeter. Yankee pitching had lacked for most of the 2005 season, and starter Mike Mussina was injured for some of the year. But in Game 1, Mussina looked at his best. Mussina started out by keeping the Angels out of the run column for 5 and 2/3 innings. Although the Angels scored a second run in the ninth, Mariano Rivera shut the door and gave the Yankees a 1-0 series lead. Game 2, October 5 Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, California In Game 2, the starters were John Lackey for the Angels and Chien-Ming Wang for the Yankees. The Yankees scored the first run of the game in the second when Robinson Cano doubled to left, allowing Hideki Matsui to come home. They made it 2-0 in the fifth after Alex Rodriguez walked and then moved to third on Jason Giambi's double. Rodríguez would score on Gary Sheffield's ground out. The Angels got on the board in the bottom of that inning on Juan Rivera's home run. In the sixth, Alex Rodríguez's error allowed Orlando Cabrera to make it to first base. He would move to second on Vladimir Guerrero's ground out and score on Jose Molina' single, tying the game at 2. In the next inning, Wang's throwing error would allow Jeff DaVanon and Steve Finley to score on Cabrera's single, giving the Angels a 4-2 lead. In the eighth, Molina's home run extended the Angels lead to three. In the ninth, Jorge Posada's homer cut the lead back the two, but the Angels still won the game to even the series. Game 3, October 7 Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York In Game 3, it was Randy Johnson pitching for the Yankees while Paul Byrd pitched for the Angels. Johnson ran into trouble early, giving up a three-run homer to Garret Anderson in the first and a two-run homer to Bengie Molina in the third to give the Angels a 5-0 lead. After allowing men on first and third with no outs in the fourth, Johnson was taken out of the game right in front of an entire stadium of booing fans. The Yankees rallied in the bottom of the inning. First, Hideki Matsui homered to put the Yanks on the board 4-1. Then Robinson Cano and Bernie Williams would single in. Cano scored on Jorge Posada's ground out and Williams on Derek Jeter's single. After Brendan Donnelly relieved Byrid, Jason Giambi's single scored Jeter and cut the Angels' lead to one. In the next inning, after Matsui walked, Cano doubled to left and a throwing error by Cabrera allowed Matsui to score and Cano to remain to first base. Scot Shields relieved Donnelly. Shield gave up a sacrifice fly to Bernie Williams that scored Cano, giving the Yankees a 6-5 lead, but that lead was short-lived. Reliever Aaron Small gave up two runs in the sixth to give the Angels the lead again. Tom Gordon allowed two unearned runs in the seventh and two earned runs in the eighth to give the Angels an 11-6 lead. Jeter's home run in the bottom of the eighth made it 11-7 Angels, but that was all the Yankees could muster up as the Angels won the game with that score and were only one win away from the ALCS. Game 4, October 9 Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York The Angels struck first in Game 4, scoring two runs in the top of the sixth on two doubles by Chone Figgins and Orlando Cabrera off of Yankees starting pitcher Shawn Chacon. The Yankees cut the lead to one in the bottom of the inning when Alex Rodriguez scored on Gary Sheffield's single off of Angels starting pitcher John Lackey. In the bottom of the next inning, Robinson Cano singled and Jorge Posada walked. They would score on singles from Ruben Sierra and Derek Jeter. Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect eighth and ninth as the Yankees won 3-2 to force a Game 5 back in Los Angeles. Game 5, October 10 Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, California Game 5 had the same starting pitchers as in Game 1, Bartolo Colon for the Angels and Mike Mussina for the Yankees. Colon left the game in the second inning due to a hand injury and was relieved by Ervin Santana. He had a bad start, allowing walks to Robinson Cano (who was caught out stealing), Bernie Williams, and Jorge Posada. Williams scored on Bubba Crosby's single and Posada on Derek Jeter's sacrifice fly as the Yankees took an early 2-0 lead. Mussina, however, could not hold the Yankees' advantage and was not as sharp as he was in Game 1. First, he gave up a solo home run to Garret Anderson to cut the lead to one. Then, Bengie Molina singled to center. After getting two outs, Mussina walked Steve Finley. Then Adam Kennedy hit the ball to right center. It would have been an easy out, but Bubba Crosby and Gary Sheffield collide on the outfield wall, allowing Molina and Finley to score to give the Angels a 3-2 lead. Mussina allowed two more runs in the third to extend to Angels lead to three. Randy Johnson relieved him and kept the Angels scoreless for the rest of the game, allowing just three hits. Jeter's solo home run in the seventh off of Santana cut the lead to two, but it wouldn't be enough as the Angels won the game 5-3 and would face the Chicago White Sox in the ALCS. External links *Los Angeles-New York at Baseball-Reference *Chicago-Boston at Baseball-Reference Category:American League Division Series American League Division Series Category:Chicago White Sox Category:Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Category:New York Yankees Category:Boston Red Sox